This invention relates generally to a system for collecting sputum specimens. More particularly, this invention relates to an arrangement wherein the finally collected specimen in a specimen container may be properly confined in that container by the placement of a screw cap on the open top of the container in a manner obviating dropping the cap or spilling the specimen on the hands of the user.
The system of the invention here includes the combination of an outer shield arrangement which is positioned coaxially around the specimen tube itself, which outer shield provides segregation of the specimen container and the funnel arrangement for receiving the specimen from the hands of the user, until the specimen has been collected in the container. Thereafter, the shield is utilized to hold the screw cap for the specimen container in a fixed position while the specimen container is rotated in order that the cooperating helical threads on the container and the cap therefor may be engaged to hold the cap firmly in place on the container.
Arrangements have been provided in the past for accomplishing what is provided for in the invention here. However, such arrangements have certain limitations which have not overcome the problems of prior art devices. The primary problem is the dropping or losing the cap for the specimen container, once the specimen is in the container. This distracts the clinician or nurse in attempting to place the cap in place over and cover completely the specimen so that the clinician or user is not contaminated by the specimen.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,346 provides an arrangement wherein a screw cap is fixed on the base support of the outer circumferential enclosure. Thus, once a specimen collection has been made, the base support is removed and the cap, which is fixed on the support, is re-oriented so that the cap may be screwed down onto the top of the specimen container. One of the problems with such an arrangement is that the cap comes lose from the base support on many occasions during the movement or action in removing the base support from the outer shield or enclosure. When this happens, of course, the cap becomes contaminated. Also, the user may be distracted and spill some of the specimen during such an accidental movement.
Another prior art structure of the kind to which this invention is directed is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,498. In that patent, an arrangement or system is provided which has no outer circumferential shield. Instead, the device is packaged in a flexible outer covering. The cap is taped to the specimen collection container. As will be understood, the cap must be removed from the container by removing the tape which may cause contamination of the cap, as will be understood by practitioners-in-the-art. Of course, the mere activity in attempting to remove or untape the screw cap may cause the cap to be dropped.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,379 teaches a screw cap placed under the openable base of the specimen collection system described. In this connection, the cap, again, is wedged in a support underneath the base covering. The cap is not attached to the base support itself. Therefore, the base is not used as a device for screwing the cap on the specimen container. Instead, the specimen container is manipulated to screw the wedged cap onto the top of the specimen container. However, again, this arrangement may cause the cap to drop from the system during the maneuver necessary for placing the cap on the specimen container, if the cap is not properly wedged prior to removal of the base support for exposing the cap for the covering operation.
It should be noted that the last two patents discussed above do not include separate coaxially positioned outer shields for containing the specimen container internally. This has proved to be a somewhat undesirable deficiency by clinical laboratory technicians who object to having to handle the very narrow specimen containers during the course of taking the specimen from a patient who may be in a prone position or not sufficiently alert to place the specimen precisely as provided in the funnel arrangement. The outer shield protects the clinical technician to a degree not provided for with the other arrangements, as discussed above.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,518,164 included a coaxial shield and a cap wedged into the base thereof. However, awkward position is required of the specimen container, as shown in FIG. 3 of that patent to obtain connection between the specimen container and the cap.
With this invention, the wedged cap remains in an untouched position, shielded from any accidental movements until such time as it is engaged to be screwed onto the top of the specimen container.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.